WEBVTT
SOLEDAD: A NORTH CAROLINA MAN
OPENED FIRE INSIDE THE PIZZA
RESTAURANT HERE IN WASHINGTON,
D.C., THIS WEEK.
WHY?
WELL HE TOLD INVESTIGATORS HE
, WANTED TO CHECK OUT WHAT ENDED
UP BEING A SO-CALLED FAKE NEWS
STORY.
THE STORY, IF YOU CAN CALL IT
THAT, ACCUSED HILLARY CLINTON
AND HER CAMPAIGN CHIEF OF
RUNNING A CHILD SEX RING OUT OF
A POPULAR PIZZA RESTAURANT,
COMET PING PONG.
FORTUNATELY, NOBODY WAS HURT IN
THE SHOOTING, BUT THE INCIDENT
DOES POINT TO THE REAL LIFE
DANGERS OF ONLINE FAKE NEWS.
ACCORDING TO PEW, 62% OF ALL
ADULTS IN THE U.S. GET THEI
NEWS IN SOME FASHION FROM SOCIAL
MEDIA.
AND AN ANALYSIS BY BUZZFEED
FOUND THAT FAKE NEWS HEADLINES
FOOL AMERICAN ADULTS 75% OF THE
TIME
CRAIG SILVERMAN IS THE EDITOR OF
BUZZFEED CANADA SAW THIS COMING.
HE HAS BEEN STUDYING THE
VERACITY OF ONLINE NEWS FOR THE
PAST DECADE.
HE IS IN TORONTO TODAY.
NICE TO TALK TO YOU.
WHAT TIPPED YOU OFF 10 YEARS AGO
THAT THIS WOULD EVENTUALLY
BECOME A THING, FAKE NEWS?
CRAIG: ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS
PAYING TO 10 YEARS AGO IS
ACTUALLY REAL NEWS, MAINSTREAM
MEDIA, AND LOOKING AT THE LACK
OF DISCUSSION AROUND ACCURACY
AND THE LACK OF DISCUSSION
AROUND FACT-CHECKING.
THAT WAS BACK IN 2004.
I STARTED WRITING ABOUT IT AND
RESEARCHING IT AND LOOKING AT
THE LEVEL OF ACCURACY OF MAIN
STREAM MEDIA.
BUT AS SOCIAL MEDIA REALLY TOOK
OFF AND I STARTED TO SEE RUMORS
AND MISINFORMATION START TO GET
TREMENDOUS VELOCITY AND HUGE
DISTRIBUTION, I STARTED TO SHIFT
AROUND 2010 OR SO AND STARTED
LOOKING AT THAT ELEMENT AND
LOOKING AT THE ROLE OF SOCIAL
MEDIA AND A FEW YEARS AGO DID A
PROJECT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT
MISINFORMATION ONLIN
SOLEDAD: SO 62%, THE FIGURE THAT
I JUST GAVE OUT, WHO GET SOME OF
THEIR NEWS IN SOME WAY FROM
SOCIAL MEDIA.
IT IS NOW A CULTURAL SHIFT, SO
HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY CLAMP DOWN
ON FAKE NEWS WHEN SO MANY PEOPLE
ARE ACCESSING SOCIAL MEDIA,
WHICH REALLY THE WAY
IT IS GETTING AROUND?
CRAIG: THAT IS IT.
I MEAN THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL
, CHANGE IN HOW PEOPLE ARE
GETTING INFORMATION AND
CONSUMING INFORMATION.
WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO TURN OFF
AND SENSOR EVERYTHING -- AND
CENSOR EVERYTHING.
AND WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA HAS DONE
IS DEMOCRATIZE MEDIA.
WHAT I MEAN IS THAT ANYBODY CAN
PUBLISH, WHETHER YOU TWEET
SOMETHING, POST ON FACEBOOK,
START A BLOG, AND ON AND ON AND
ON.
IT IS A FUNDAMENTALLY DIFFERENT
UNIVERSE.
THERE IS A LACK OF CONTROL WITH
THAT, AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY
A BAD THING.
THIS IS FREE SPEECH, BUT IT
INTRODUCES NEW CONSEQUENCES AND
SPREAD OF RUMORS, AND
MISINFORMATION IS ONE OF THOSE.
AND WE SAW, IN PARTICULAR AROUND
THE ELECTION HUGE AMOUNTS OF
, FALSE STORIES THAT WERE
GETTING A LOT OF TRACTION ON
FACEBOOK.
SOLEDAD: THE TOP 20 FAKE STORES
-- STORIES WERE GETTING FAR MORE
ENGAGEMENT THAN THE TOP 20 REAL
NEWS STORIES FROM SOME OF THE
BIGGEST NAMES IN NEWS.
HOW DO YOU POSSIBLY MANAGE
SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF IT IS
REALLY DRIVEN, ULTIMATELY BY
, ALGORITHMS?
CRAIG: ON FACEBOOK, IT LEARNS
WHAT YOU DO AND WHAT YOU LIKE
AND THEIR GOAL IS TO FEED YOU
, MORE OF THAT BECAUSE IT GETS
YOU TO SPEND MORE TIME ON
FACEBOOK.
THE ALGORITHMS END UP SENDING
YOU MORE OF THE STUFF THAT
CONFIRMS MORE OF WHAT YOU
BELIEVE AND THINK.
SOLEDAD: YOU CAN'T EXPECT THE
USER END, LIKE MY AUNT SILVIA,
TO SAY "OH, I'M NOT GOING TO
FORWARD THIS STORY" BECAUSE I
DEEM IT TO BE FAKE.
WE KNOW MOST PEOPLE CAN'T TELL
FAKE FROM REAL.
CRAIG: WHEN YOU OPEN UP FACEBOOK
AND LOOK AT YOUR NEWS FEED, ALL
OF THE LINKS PEOPLE ARE SHARING
LOOK THE SAME.
YOU DON'T SEE LOGOS.
YOU HAVE TO GO BELOW THE IMAGE
AND HEADLINE TO SEE WHERE IT
CAME FROM, AND MOST PEOPLE DON'T
DO THAT.
SOLEDAD: IT'S NOT THAT PEOPLE
LIKE A MORE FACTUAL STORY THAN
ONE THAT ACTUALLY CONFIRMS THE
CONSPIRACY THEORY THAT THEY
BELIEVE.
PLUS, YOU HAVE THE
PRESIDENT-ELECT ELEVATING FAKE
NEWS, RIGHT?
I MEAN, THAT'S PROBLEMATIC AND
DIFFERENT.
CRAIG: THAT'S UNPRECEDENTED.
THE FACT THAT TRUMP WILL TWEET
THINGS THAT ARE UNTRUE.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS A FAKE
NEWS STORY THAT A PROTESTER HAD
BEEN PAID $3500 TO PROTEST
TRUMP.
THAT'S FROM A COMPLETELY FA
WEBSITE CREATED BY A GUY WHO
JUST CREATES HOAXES ALL DAY LONG
TO MAKE MONEY.
BUT THAT WAS TWEETED OUT BY TWO
OF HIS CAMPAIGN MANAGERS, ONE OF
HIS SONS, ALSO.
WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE AT THAT
LEVEL OF INFLUENCE PUSHING THAT
MISINFORMATION OUT THERE,
WHETHER KNOWINGLY AND
UNKNOWINGLY, THAT GIVES IT AN
ADDED LAYER OF CREDIBILITY.
SOLEDAD: WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE
THE SOLUTIONS?
CRAIG: THE FIRST STEP IS PURELY
FAKE SITES, NOT THINGS THAT ARE
PARTISAN AND SLANTED, BUT PURELY
FAKE SITES SHOULD BE LABELED OR
FIND SOME WAY TO CLEARLY
COMMUNICATE THAT TO PEOPLE ON
FACEBOOK.
THE OTHER PIECE YOU MENTIONED IS
EDUCATION.
I THINK THERE IS A ROLE FOR BUT
I ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THIS IS A
MASSIVE UNDERTAKING.
I MEAN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
, HAVING TO INTRODUCE SOME FORM
OF MEDIA LITERACY BROADLY IN
HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITIES AND
MAYBE EVEN EARLIER AND THAT'S

Combating Fake News Online

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Updated: 1:00 PM EST Dec 10, 2016

Fake news articles shared online by your friends and relatives could have serious effects in an offline world. Recently, a North Carolina man opened fire in a popular Washington, DC pizza restaurant, saying he was personally investigating a fake news story he believed to be true. The fabricated article claimed there was a child sex ring operating inside Comet Ping Pong, managed by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her campaign chair John Podesta.

Social media experts note that fake news could have influenced this year’s presidential election. The top 20 fake news stories on Facebook received significantly more traction than the top 20 news articles by established news organizations. According to a BuzzFeed analysis, 75 percent of U.S. adults are fooled by these fake news headlines and according to Pew Research, 20 percent of social media users report changing their political stance due to material on social media. With 62 percent of Americans using social media as a news source, there is a potential for a significant number of voters basing their political decisions on false headlines. BuzzFeed Canada Editor Craig Silverman has been studying the fake news phenomenon for over decade. He sits down with Soledad O’Brien to explain the business models that promote misinformation and the difficulties of combating fake news.